Year 7: Myths and Legends home pack

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Teacher: School week 7 W.C. 02.11.2020 Lesson 1: This week, you are going to look at the introduction of the human hero. Previously to this, our focus has been on characters who are Gods or part of the supernatural in some way.

What is a hero?

How many examples can you give of a hero? • • • • • • Below are Propp’s character conventions. These are characters you can expect to see in a traditional adventure story and what their role is.

How do you think the heroic figure has changed over time? Think about what the Greek expectations were, then Roman and what we are familiar with today. Greek Roman Modern

In the past, we have looked at heroes as masculine figures. Do you think this is still relevant today? Do we expect heroes to be masculine? Explain your thinking.

Why is it important to have a human hero? How does it impact the story and the reader’s relationship with it?

Lesson 2:

What are the purpose of the following characters, according to Propp’s conventions. Do this from memory first and then you can look back to complete any that are missing.

Hero –

Villain –

Doner –

Helper –

Princess –

Dispatcher –

Princess’ father –

False hero -

Read ‘The Sword in the Stone’. Does it fit any of the seven basic plots? Which one and why?

How is Arthur presented as a heroic character?

Use the questions below to help you: What is Arthur like? Arthur is presented as a heroic character as he is… How does the text show us this? This is shown when…

The Sword in the Stone

Our story begins in the fifth century with King Uther who reigned in the south of Britain. He was a good king who kept his country safe and peaceful. King Uther loved a beautiful woman, Igraine, and wanted to marry her. But, alas she did not accept his proposal.

There also lived at this time the great prophet and alchemist Merlin who we know was an embodiment of our beloved Saint Germain. Merlin had powers that some called magical. These powers were actually the ability to use God’s flow of energy to bring forth God’s will on earth.

Merlin said to King Uther, “I will arrange for you to marry Igraine but only on the condition that when you have a child, you will give him to me. These are troubled times and I promise that your child will be raised in a secret place where no one will know his true identity.”

King Uther agreed, “Yes, I promise, for I trust you.” Uther knew Merlin would raise his child according to God’s will. King Uther and Igraine married and when they had a baby son, who they named Arthur, King Uther kept his promise.

Merlin took the child to the honorable knight Sir Ector, who had another son named Kay. Sir Ector was called the Trustworthy Knight because of the noble manner in which he treated others. It was in this family that Arthur and Kay grew and learned together as brothers.

Now it came to pass that the noble King Uther was old and ready to pass from this life. He called for Merlin. “Merlin, I am concerned that I am not long for this life and have need of a king to succeed me. It is my earnest wish that my son Arthur wear my crown. I bid him therefore that he claim it in a righteous and just spirit, when the time is right.”

Merlin said, “I assure you that your wish will be granted according to God’s will.”

Shortly thereafter King Uther passed away, and, as Merlin had feared, there was now great conflict over who should be the next king. The knights and great men began to battle for the throne. As a result, there was no new king for a long time.

Several years later, Merlin went to London to speak to the Archbishop of Canterbury, the most important man in the Church.

Merlin said to him, “Call the knights to London. Tell them to fast and pray to prepare for this holy time of year. It is then that we will find the new king.” The Archbishop obeyed and summoned all the knights to London.

It was the season of Christmas, and in the great cathedral, a service was held. The people prayed that they receive a sign indicating who was to be their rightful king.

Following the service there appeared in the courtyard a strange, white stone, like marble. In the stone was a steel anvil with a great, glistening sword thrust into it. The sword had letters of gold written on it, which read:

“Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise king born of all England.”

Everyone was surprised and the Archbishop himself came outside to look. Understanding this as the sign they were praying for, he said, “I grant permission for any of the knights to try to pull the sword from this stone.” Many tried hoping to be king, but no one could even move it.

“He is not here,” said the archbishop. “God will make him known when the time is right.”

Then he set a guard of ten knights to keep the stone, and the Archbishop appointed a day when all should come from near and far to try at the stone.

In the meantime, outside of London the knights had been invited to participate in a jousting tournament. One of the families summoned to this tourney was Sir Ector and his two sons Sir Kay and Arthur.

Sir Kay, now old enough to participate, took young Arthur along as his esquire-at-arms to carry his spear and pennant.

It was during the first round in which Sir Kay, fighting with great strength and determination, broke his sword. “Arthur, run to find me another sword, so that I continue in this tournament,” he commanded his younger brother.

Arthur obeyed immediately. He remembered seeing the sword in the courtyard and hastened there. The sword in the stone stood alone as all the knights were now at the tournament. Arthur approached the stone, took the sword in his hand and pulled. It came out of the stone easily.

Arthur ran back to his brother with the sword. When his father and brother saw it, Sir Ector did ask, “Where did that sword come from?”

“I pulled it from the stone in the courtyard,” Arthur answered innocently.

Sir Ector and Sir Kay exchanged glances. For, they knew the meaning of this action.

“Arthur, are you sure it was the sword and stone in the courtyard?”

“Yes, Father, it was the same,” replied Arthur.

His father then, went with Sir Kay and Arthur back to the place outside the church. Sir Ector put the sword in the stone again.

“Now pull it out,” he said to Arthur.

Arthur pulled and again he easily removed the sword from the anvil. Sir Ector saw this and he and Sir Kay fell to their knees in front of Arthur. “You are my King,” Sir Ector said.

Arthur did not understand. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“Arthur,” Sir Ector said slowly, 'I love you very much, but I am not really your father.” Sir Ector then went on to tell the story of Merlin bringing Arthur to him for his safety. “Now, I know why he did this,” continued Sir Ector.

Arthur knew in his heart that what his father was saying was true. He accepted his mantle and said, “I will work to be a fair and just king. I will listen to your words, because I love you as my father. Sir Kay, my brother, you will be an important knight and a friend to me.”

The story of the Sword Excalibur was just the beginning of the wondrous life of King Arthur. For he went on to rule fairly just as he promised and Sir Kay did become one of his knights. King Arthur understood that to rule as King was the Key to the Incarnation of God. And so as the story of King Arthur lives on in our hearts, we can strive each day to become more of the incarnation of God in our own lives as King Arthur did.

Lesson 3: What do you already know about Robin Hood? • • • • • •

Is Robin Hood a hero or a villain, based off of what you already know, and why?

Read ‘Robin Hood’ Does it fit any of the seven basic plots? Which one and why?

‘Robin Hood is actually a villainous character’. How far do you agree with this statement? To answer a question like this you must first decide if you agree to disagree with the statement. Do you think Robin Hood is a villain or a hero? Villain Hero If you think villain, you would complete your answer as below.

What is Robin Hood? Robin Hood is presented to be a villainous character. How is Robin Hood presented as villainous? This is shown when (evidence from the text and explained).

If you think hero, you would complete your answer as below.

What is Robin Hood? Robin Hood is presented to be a heroic character. How is Robin Hood presented as heroic? This is shown when (evidence from the text and explained).

If you think Robin Hood could be seen as both a hero and a villain, you could follow the below outline.

What is Robin Hood? Robin Hood may be presented as a villainous character. How is Robin Hood presented as villainous? This is shown when (evidence from the text and explained) Comparison However, Robin Hood may also be seen as a heroic character. How could Robin Hood be seen as heroic? His heroism is shown when… Use one of the above outlines to write an answer to the question. ‘Robin Hood is actually a villainous character’. How far do you agree with this statement?

Robin Hood

Long ago, England was ruled by a wicked, greedy Prince John. He ordered the Sheriff of Nottingham to tax the people so heavily that some were forced to become outlaws. Two of the most famous outlaws were Robin Hood and Little John, who would steal the tax money from the Sheriff and give it back to the poor. One day, Prince John was travelling by coach to Nottingham to pick up more tax money. He was so busy counting his gold that he didn’t notice he was passing through Sherwood Forest, the home of Robin Hood nor did he see that Little John and Robin Hood were watching him from the tree. “Look at all that gold. Hey Little John, let’s play Prince John a little visit!”, said Robin Hood. In his coach, Prince John was talking to his counsellor, Sir Hiss, about his favourite subject, Gold. “Life has become so wonderful since King Richard left for the Crusades. He treated people too nicely and he missed out on all this gold,” said Prince John. Robin Hood and Little John were standing by the roadside disguised as lady fortune tellers hen the coach passed by. Prince John ordered the coach to be stopped. While Robin Hood told Prince John’s fortune, he slipped the royal rings off his fingers, and Little John helped himself to the Prince’s gold. Prince John never even knew he had been robbed until Robin and Little John escaped.

Lesson 4: List all the things you expect to see in a hero. • • • • • •

Today, you are going to create your own, traditional, hero.

You need to consider the following: • How do they look? • How do they talk to, and treat, others? • Background? • Their beliefs

You can then mind-map, bullet point or create a character profile in order to plan your character. Tomorrow, you will write a description of the character and introduce their background.

Then, repeat these ideas, for your villain.

Lesson 5:

Today, you need to introduce your hero. Write a paragraph for each of the following tasks:

• Describe your hero • Introducing the hero’s background • The start of their journey • Meeting the villain

You can use the story arc to plan your writing.

Let’s write!

School week 8 W.C. 09.11.2020

Lesson 1:

Since you have started year 7, we have looked at various myths and legends over time. This week we are going to start looking at Norse mythology.

How was the world created according to:

Greek mythology

Roman mythology

Read ‘Before the Beginning and After’

How was the world created according to Norse mythology?

How is this similar or different to Greek and Roman?

Summarise how beliefs about the creation of the world have changed over time. You may choose to include modern beliefs about the world as well.

Before The Beginning, and After

I

Before the beginning there was nothing – no earth, no heavens, no stars, no sky: only the mist world, formless and shapeless, and the fire world, always burning. To the north was Niflheim, the dark world. Here eleven poisonous rivers cut through the mist, each springing from the same well at the centre of it all, the roaring maelstrom called Hvergelmir. Niflheim was colder than cold, and the murky mist that cloaked everything hung heavily. The skies were hidden by mist and the ground was clouded by the chilly fog. To the south was Muspell. Muspell was fire. Everything there glowed and burned. Muspell was light where Niflheim was grey, molten lava where the mist world was frozen. The land was aflame with the roaring heat of a blacksmith’s fire; there was no solid earth, no sky. Nothing but sparks and spurting heat, molten rocks and burning embers. In Muspell, at the edge of the flame, where the mist burns into light, where the land ends, stood Surtr, who existed before the gods. He stands there now. He holds a flaming sword, and the bubbling lava and the freezing mist are as one to him. It is said that at Ragnarok, which is the end of the world, and only then, Surtr will leave his station. He will go forth from Muspell with his flaming sword and burn the world with fire, and one by one the gods will fall before him.

II

Between Muspell and Niflheim was a void, an empty place of nothingness, without form. The rivers of the mist world flowed into the void, which was called Ginnungagap, the “yawning gap”. Over time beyond measure, these poisoned rivers, in the region between fire and mist, slowly solidified into huge glaciers. The ice in the north of the void was covered in frozen fog and pellets of hail, but to the south, where the glaciers reached the land of fire, the embers and sparks from Muspell met the ice, and warm winds from the flame lands made the air above the ice as gentle and as comfortable as a spring day. Where the ice and fire met the ice melted, and in the melting waters life appeared: the likeness of a person bigger than worlds, huger than any giant there will be or ever has been. This was neither male, nor was it female, but was both at the same time. This creature was the ancestor off all the giants, and it called itself Ymir. Ymir was not the only living thing to be formed by the melting of the ice: there was also a hornless cow, more enormous than the mind could hold. She licked the salty blocks of ice for food and for drink, and the milk that ran from her four udders flowed like rivers. It was this milk that nourished Ymir. The giant drank the milk, and grew. Ymir called the cow Audhumla. The cow’s pink tongue licked people from the blocks of ice: the first day only a man’s hair, the second his head, and the third day the shape of a whole man was revealed. This was Buri, the ancestor of the gods. Ymir slept, and while it slept, it gave birth: a male and a female giant were born from beneath Ymir’s left arm, a six-headed giant born from its legs. From these, Ymir’s children, all giants were descended. Buri took a wife from among these giants, and they had a son, whom they called Bor. Bor married Bestla, daughter of a giant, and together they had three sons: Odin, Vili and Ve. Odin and Vili and Ve, the three sons of Bor, grew into manhood. They saw as they grew, far off, the flames of Muspell and the darkness of Niflheim, but they knew that each palce would be the death to them. The brothers were trapped forever in Ginnungagap. The vast gap between the fire and the mist. They might as well have been nowhere. There was no sea and no sand, no grass nor rocks, no soil, no trees, no sky, no stars. There was no world, no heaven and no earth, at that time. The gap was nowhere: only an empty place waiting to be filled with life and with existence. It was time for the creation of everything. Ve and Vili and Odin looked at each other and spoke of what was needful to do, there in the void of Ginnungagap. They spoke of the universe, and of life, and of the future. Odin and Vili and Ve killed the giant Ymir. It had to be done. There was no other way to make the worlds. This was the beginning of all things, the death that made all life possible. They stabbed the great giant. Blood gushed out from Ymir’s corpse in unimaginable quantities; fountains of blood as salt as the sea and grey as the oceans gushed out in a flood so sudden, so powerful, and so deep that it swept away and drowned all the giants. (Only one giant, Bergelmir, Ymir’s grandson, and his wife survived, by clambering onto a wooden box, which bore them like a boat. All the giants we see and we fear today are descended from them.) Odin and his brothers made the soil from Ymir’s flesh. Ymir’s bones they piled up into mountains and cliffs. Our rocks and pebbles, the sand and gravel you see: these were Ymir’s teeth, and the fragments of bones that were broken and crushed by Odin and Vili and Ve in their battle with Ymir. The seas that girdle the worlds: these were Ymir’s blood and his sweat. Look up into the sky: you are looking at the inside of Ymir’s skull. The stars you see at night, the planets, all the comets and the shooting stars, these are the sparks that flew from the fires of Muspell. And the clouds you see by day? These were once Ymir’s brains, and who knows what thoughts they are thinking, even now.

III

The world is a flat disk, and the sea encircles the perimeter. Giants live at the edges of the world, beside the deepest seas. To keep the giants at bay, Odin and Vili and Ve made a wall from Ymir’s eyelashes and set it around the middle of the world. They called the place within the world Midgard. Midgard was empty. The lands were beautiful, but nobody walked the meadows or fished in the clear waters, nobody explored the rocky mountains or stared up at the clouds. Odin and Vili and Ve knew that a world is not a world until it is inhabited. They wandered high and low, looking for people, and they found nothing. At last, on the rocky shingle at the edge of the sea, they found two logs, sea-tossed, that had floated there on the tides and been cast ashore. The first log was a log of ash wood. The ash tree is resilient and handsome and its roots go deep. Its wood carves well and will not split or crack. Ash wood makes a good tool handle, or the shaft of a spear. The second log they found, beside the first on the beach, so close to the first log there were almost touching, was a log of elm wood. The elm tree is graceful, but its wood is hard enough to be made into the toughest planks and beams; you can build a fine home or a hall from elm wood. The gods took the two logs. They set the logs so they were upright on the sand, the height of people. Odin held them, and one by one he breathed life into them. No longer were they dead longs on a beach: now they were alive. Vili gave them will; he gave them intelligence and drive. Now they could move, and they could want. Ve carved the logs. He gave them the shape of people. He carved their ears, that they might hear, and their eyes, that they might see, and lips, that they might speak. The two logs stood on the beach, two naked people. Ve carved one with male genitals, the other he had carved female. The three brothers made clothes for the woman and the man, to cover themselves and to keep them warm, in the chilly sea spray on the beach at the edge of the world. Last of all they gave the two people they had made names; the man they called Ask, or Ash Tree; the woman they called Embla, or Elm. Ask and Embla were the father and the mother of all of us: every human being owes its life to its parents and their parents and their parents before them. Go far enough back, and the ancestors of each of us were Ask and Embla. Embla and Ask stayed in Midgard, safe behind the wall the gods had made from Ymir’s eyelashes. In Midgard they would make their homes, protected from giants and monsters and all the dangers that wait in the wastes. In Midgard they could raise their children in peace. This is why Odin is called the all-father. Because he was the father of the gods, and because he breathed the breath of life into our grandparents’ grandparents’ grandparents. Whether we are gods or mortals, Odin is the father of us all.

Lesson 2:

What do you associate with Vikings?

• • • • •

Norse society valued honourable aggression and masculinity. Read the extracts below and think about any examples of aggression that we see. These extracts will also be used for the next lesson.

Then, answer the following question: Remember to follow the what-how-why method. You can use the sentence starters below to help you. What did Norse society value?

What did they value? Norse society valued honourable aggression and masculinity.

How do you see this in the texts?

This is shown when (choose quote) which suggests… The use of the (key word) highlights…

Why is this important? This is important because…

Odin The highest and the oldest of all the gods is Odin. Odin knows many secrets. He gave an eye for wisdom. More than that, for knowledge of runes, and for power, he sacrificed himself to himself. He hung from the world-tree, Yggdrasil, hung there for nine nights. His side was pierced by the point of a spear, which wounded him gravely. The winds clutched at him, buffeting his body as it hung. Nothing did he eat for nine days or nine nights, nothing did he drink. He was alone there, in pain, the light of his life slowly going out. He was cold, in agony, and on the point of death when his sacrifice bore dark fruit: in the ecstasy of his agony he looked down, and the runes were revealed to him. He knew them, and understood them and their power. The rope broke then, and he fell, screaming, from the tree. Now he understood magic. Now the world was his to control. Odin has many names. He is the all-father, the lord of he slain, the gallows god. He is the god of cargoes and of prisoners. He is called Grimnir and Third. He has different names in every country (for he is worshipped in different forms and in many tongues, but it is always Odin they worship). He travels from place to place in disguise, to see the world as people see it. When he walks among us, he does so as a tall man, wearing a cloak and hat. He has two ravens, whom he calls Huginn and Muninn, which mean “thought” and “memory”. These birds fly back and forth across the world, seeking news and bringing Odin all the knowledge of things. They perch on his shoulders and whisper into his ears. When he sits on his high throne at Hlidskjalf, he observes all things, wherever they may be. Nothing can be hidden from him. He brought war into the world: battles are begun by throwing a spear at the hostile army, dedicating the battle and its deaths to Odin. If you survive in battle, it is with Odin’s grace, and if you fall it is because he has betrayed you. If you fall bravely in war the Valkyries, beautiful battle-maidens who collect the souls of the nobel dead, will take you and bring you to the hall known as Valhalla. He will be waiting for you in Valhalla, and there you will drink and fight and feast and battle, with Odin as your leader. Thor Thor, Odin’s son, is the thunderer. He is straightforward where his father Odin is cunning, good-natured where his father is devious. Huge he is, and red-bearded, and strong, by far the strongest of all the gods. His might is increased by his belt of strength, Megingjord: when he wears it, his strength is doubled. Thor’s weapon is Mjollnir, a remarkable hammer, forged for him by dwarfs. Its story you will learn. Trolls and frost giants and mountain giants all tremble when they see Mjollnir, for it has killed so many of their brothers and friends. Thor wears iron gloves, which help him to grip the hammer’s shaft. Thor’s mother was Jord, the earth goddess. Thor’s sons are Modi, the angry, and Magni, the strong. Thor’s daughter is Thrud, the powerful. His wife is Sif, of the golden hair. She had a son, Ullr, before she married Thor, and Thor is Ullr’s stepfather. Ullr is a god who hunts with a bow and with arrows, and he is the god with skis. Thor is the defender of Asgard and of Midgard. There are many stories about Thor and his adventures. You will encounter some of them here.

Loki Loki is very handsome. He is plausible, convincing, like-able, and far and away the most wily, subtle and shrewd of all the inhabitants of Asgard. It is a pity, then, that there is so much darkness inside him: so much anger, so much envy, so much lust. Loki is the son of Laufey, who was also known as Nal, or needle, because she was slim and beautiful and sharp. His father was said to be Farbauti, a giant; his name means “he who strikes dangerous blows”, and Farbauti was as dangerous as his name. Loki walks in the sky with shoes that fly, and he can transform his shape so he looks like other people, or change into animal form, but his real weapon is his mind. He is more cunning, subtler, trickier than any god or giant. Not even Odin is as cunning as Loki. Loki is Odin’s blood brother. The other gods do not know when Loki came to Asgard, or how. He is Thor’s friend and Thor’s betrayer. He is tolerated by the gods, perhaps because his stratagems and plans save them as often as they get them into trouble. Loki makes the world more interesting but less safe. He is the father of monsters, the author of woes, the sly god. Loki drinks too much, and he cannot guard his words or his thoughts or his deeds when he drinks. Loki and his children will be there for Ragnarok, the end of everything, and it will not be on the side of the gods or Asgard that they will fight.

Lesson 3:

Read the character extracts. These are the extracts from yesterday. Then, make a character profile for each. You should include what they are like and how you know.

Loki

Thor

Odin

Finally, choose one to answer the following question on:

How is the character of (student choice) presented? Use the what-how-why method. You can look back at your work from yesterday to help you.

Lesson 4:

We know that Norse society valued aggression and masculinity. What traits do you think we value, in our society? • • • • •

How have these values changed over time? Do we value masculinity less and femininity more? How do we view aggression?

You are going to create a ‘perfect’ character today. You can complete this as a mind-map, or bullet point plan but the qualities of your character should reflect today’s values.

Lesson 5:

Today, you are going to write about your ‘perfect’ character. As we know, it is important to ‘show’ what your character is like rather than ‘tell’. Aim to include this in your writing. There are some examples included to help you. The words in bold are the key ways I have used ‘show’ rather than ‘tell’.

Tell: As she walked towards the figure, she was afraid. Show: Taking each step at a time, the girl trembled as she approached the gloomy figure.

Tell: The interview went well and he couldn’t have been happier. Show: The man skipped out of the interview with a smile of confidence.

Now, you try to turn this ‘tell’ sentence into a ‘show’ Tell: It had been another terrible school day and the girl walked home miserably. Show:

Write, a minimum of, two paragraphs about your perfect character. Remembering to show what they are like rather than telling.

School week 9 W.C. 16.11.2020 Lesson 1: We have worked on how characters are presented over the year so far. What should you include in a paragraph when answering a question like the following:

How is the character of … presented? • • • • • • •

You will read an extract based on Thor and then annotate it with ‘what’ he is like and ‘how’ you know. There is an example of annotations below for you. ‘rumble’ suggests that Thor is masculine and strong and is emphasised with the simile ‘like thunder’. It may also suggest that Thor is fierce as ‘thunder’ often causes fear in people,

Thor said, in a low rumble, like thunder echoing on a distant mountaintop, “And me? What did I actually do last night?”

Utgardaloki was no longer smiling. “A miracle,” he said. “You did the impossible.

‘miracle’ gives the suggestion that Thor is incredibly powerful and that his actions are surprising. This is further highlighted with ‘impossible’ as what he has achieved is shocking.

Once you have completed your annotations, write an answer to the following question:

How is the character of Thor presented? Remember to follow what-how-why and you can use sentence starts from previous lessons to help if you wish.

Thor

Thor said, in a low rumble, like thunder echoing on a distant mountaintop, “And me? What did I actually do last night?” Utgardaloki was no longer smiling. “A miracle,” he said. “You did the impossible. You could not perceive it, but the end of the drinking horn was the deepest part of the sea. You drank enough to take the ocean level down, to make tides. Because of you, Thor, the seawater will rise and ebb forevermore. I was relieved that you did not take a fourth drink: you might have drunk the ocean dry. The cat whom you tried to lift was no cat. That was Jormungundr, the Midgard serpent, the snake who goes around the centre of the world. It is impossible to lift the Midgard serpent, and yet you did, and you even loosened a coil of it when you lifted its paw from the ground. Do you remember the noise you heard? That was the sound of the earth moving.” “And the old woman?” asked Thor. “Your old nurse? What was she?” His voice was very mild, but hehad hold of the shaft of his hammer, and he was holding it comfortably. “That was Elli, old age. No one can beat old age, because in the end she takes each of us, makes us weaker and weaker until she closes our eyes for good. All of us except you, Thor. You wrestled old age, and we marvelled that you stayed standing, that even when she took power over you, you fell down only on to one knee. We have never seen anything like last night, Thor. Never. And now that we have seen your power, we know how foolish we were to let you reach Utgard. I plan to defend my fortress in the future, and the way that I plan to defend it best is to ensure that none of you ever find Utgard, or see it again, and to be quite certain that whatever happens in the days to come, none of you will ever return.” Thor raised his hammed high above his head, but before he could strike, Utgardaloki was gone. “Look,” said Thialfi. The fortress was gone. There was no trace of Utgardaloki’s stronghold or the grounds it was in. now the three travellers were standing on a desolate plain, with no signs of any kind of life whatsoever.

Lesson 2:

Today, you are going to look at the character of Loki. Again, I want you to annotate the extract with ‘what’ he is like and ‘how’ you know.

Then, you will answer the question:

How is the character of Loki presented? Again, you should follow the what-how-why method.

Loki

Balder was dead, and the gods were still mourning his loss. They were sad, and the grey rains fell unceasingly, and there was no joy in the land. Loki, when he returned from one of his journeys to distant parts, was unrepentant. It was the time of autumn feast in Aegir’s hall, where the gods and elves were gathered to drink the sea giant’s fresh-brewed ale, brewed in the cauldron Thor had brought back from the land of the giants so long ago. Loki was there. He drank too much of Aegir’s ale, drank himself beyond joy and laughter and trickery and into a brooding darkness. When Loki heard the gods praise Aegir’s servant, Fimafeng, for his swiftness and diligence, he sprang up from the table and stabbed Fimafend with his knife, killing him instantly. The horrified gods drove Loki out of the feast hall, into the darkness. Time passed. The feasting continued, but now it was subdued. There was a commotion at the doorway, and when the gods and goddesses turned to find out what was happening, they saw that Loki had returned. He stood in the entry to the hall staring at them, with a sardonic smile on his face. “You are not welcome here,” said the gods. Loki ignored them. He walked up to where Odin was sitting. “All-father. You and I mixed our bloody long, long ago, did we not?” Odin nodded. “We did.” Loki smiled even more widely. “Did you not swear back then, great Odin, that you would drink at a banqueting table only if Loki, your sworn blood brother, drank with you?” Odin’s good grey eye stared into Loki’s green eyes, and it was Odin who looked away. “Let the wolf’s father feast with us,” said Odin gruffly, and he made his son Vidar move over to make room for Loki to sit down beside him. Loki grinned with malice and delight. He called for more of Aegir’s ale and gulped it down. One by one that night Loki insulted the gods and the goddesses. He told the gods that they were cowards, told the goddesses that they were gullible and unchaste. Each insult was woven with just enough truth to make it wound. He told them that they were fools, reminded them of things they thought were safely forgotten. He sneered and jeered and raised old scandals, and would not stop making everyone there miserable until Thor arrived at the feast. Thor ended the conversation very simply: he threatened to use Mjollnir to shut Loki’s evil mouth for good and send him to Hel, all the way to the hall of the dead. Loki left the feast then, but before he swaggered out, he turned to Aegir. “You brewed fine ale,” said Loki to the sea giant. “But there will never be another autumn feast here. Flames will take this hall; your skin will be burned from your back by the fire. Everything you love will be taken from you. This I swear.” And he walked away from the gods of Asgard, into the dark.

Lesson 3:

What makes Thor and Loki difference? What are they like?

Thor: Loki: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

What do you think Thor represents? Think back to what Norse society valued?

What do you think Loki represents? How is he different to Thor?

Lesson 4:

What traits do we value in people?

• Juxtaposition is two things or • people placed together with contrasting effect. • • • Tall and short • Dark and light • •

You are going to create two juxtaposing characters. Your first character must represent the things that we value. Your second character should represent the traits that we dislike.

Character

1

Character 2

Then, I want you to plan what conflict you are going to have between these two characters. For example, the ‘good’ character may wish to help someone in need and the ‘bad’ character may do things that make it difficult for them.

Bullet point below what issues your characters are going to have. • • • • • •

Lesson 5:

Today you are going to write about the conflict between your two characters. You should have a paragraph for each of the following: • Description of the ‘good’ character • Description of the ‘bad’ character • Building up to the conflict • The conflict • How the ‘good’ character overcomes the conflict.

School week 10 W.C. 23.11.2020 Lesson 1:

How do you think the world will end?

You are going to read ‘Ragnarok’ which is the Norse story of the end of the world. Before you read it, why do you think that Greek and Roman myths do not explore the end of the world? Consider what they valued within your answer.

Now read Ragnarok.

Summarise the story below.

Why do you think Norse mythology has this story when so many others do not? Think about what Norse society valued.

Ragnarok: The Final Destiny of The Gods

Until now I have told you of thing that have happened in the past – things that happened a long time ago. Now I shall tell you of the days to come. I shall tell you how it will end, and then how it will begin once more. These are dark days I will tell you of, dark days and hidden things, concerning the ends of the earth and the death of the gods. Listen, and you will learn. This is how we will know that the end times are upon us. It will be far from the age of the gods, in the time of men. It will happen when the gods all sleep, every god but all-seeing Heimdall. He will watch everything as it begins, although he will be powerless to prevent what he sees from happening. It will begin with the winter. This will not be a normal winter. The winter will begin, and it will continue, winter following winter. There will be no spring, no warmth. People will be hungry and they will be cold and they will be angry. Great battles will take place, all across the world. Brothers will fight brothers, fathers will kill sons. Mothers and daughters will be set against each other. Sisters will fall in battle with sisters, and will watch their children murder each other in their turn. This will be the age of cruel winds, the age of people who become as wolves, who prey upon each other, who are no better than wild beasts. Twilight will come to the world, and the places where humans live will fall into ruins, flaming briefly, then crashing down and crumbling into ash and devastation. Then, when the few remaining people are living like animals, the sun in the sky will vanish, as if eaten by a wolf, and the moon will be taken from us too, and no one will be able to see the stars any longer. Darkness will fill the air, like ashes, like mist. This will be the time of the terrible winter that will not end, the Fimbulwinter. There will be snowdriving in from all directions, fierce winds, and cold colder than you have ever imagined cold could be, an icy cold so cold your lungs will ache when you breathe, so cold that the tears in your eyes will freeze. There will be no spring to relieve it, no summer, no autumn. Only winter, followed by winter, followed by winter. After that there will come the time of the great earthquakes. The mountains will shake and crumble. Trees will fall, and any remaining places where people live will be destroyed. The earthquakes will be so great that all bonds and shackles and fetters will be destroyed. All of them. Fenrir, the great wolf, will free himself from his shackles. His mouth will gape: his upper jaw will reach the heavens, the lower jaw will touch the earth. There is nothing he cannot eat, nothing he will not destroy. Flames come from his eyes and his nostrils. Where Fenris Wolf walks, flaming destruction follows. There will be flooding too, as the seas rise and surge on to the land. Jormungundr, the Midgard serpent, huge and dangerous, will writhe in its fury, closer and closer to the land. The venom from its fangs will spill into the water, poisoning all the sea life. It will spatter its black poison into the air in a fine spray, killing all the seabirds that breathe it. There will be no more life in the oceans, where the Midgard serpent writhes. The rotted corpses of fish and of whales, of sea and sea monsters, will wash in the waves. All who see the brothers Fenrir the wolf and the Midgard serpent, the children of Loki, will know death. That is the beginning of the end. The misty sky will split apart, with the sound of children screaming, and the sons of Muspell will ride down from the heavens, led by Surtr, the fire giant, holding high his sword, which burns so brightly no mortal can look upon it. They will ride across the rainbow bridge, across Bifrost, and the rainbow will crumble as they ride, its once-bright colours becoming shades of charcoal and ash. There will never be another rainbow. Cliffs will crumble into the sea. Loki, who will have escaped from his bonds beneath the earth, will be them helmsman of the ship called Naglfar. This is the biggest ship there will ever have been: it is built of the fingernails of the dead. Naglfar floats upon the flooded seas. The crew looks out and sees only dead things, floating and rotting on the surface of the ocean. Loki steers the ship, but its captain will be Hrym, leader of the frost giants. The surviving frost giants all follow Hrym, huge and inimical to humanity. They are Hrym’s soldiers in the final battle. Loki’s troops are the legions of Hel. They are the uneasy dead, the ones who died shameful deaths, who will return to the earth to fight once more as walking corpses, determined to destroy anything that still loves and lives above the earth. All of them, giants and the dead and the burning sons of Muspell, will travel to the battle plain called Vigrid. Vigrid is huge: three hundred miles across. Fenris Wolf pads his way there alose, and the Midgard serpent will navigate the flooded seas until it too is close to Vigrid, then it will writhe up on the sand and force itself ashore – only its head and the first mile or so of its body. Most of it will remain in the sea. They will form themselves into battle order: Surtr and the sons of Muspell will be there in flames; the warriors of Hel and Loki will be there from beneath the earth; the frost giants will be there, Hrym’s troops, the mud freezing where they stand. Fenrir will be with them, and the Midgard serpent. The worst enemies that the mind can imagine will be there that day. Heimdall will have seen all this as it occurs. He sees everything, after all: he is the watchman of the gods. Now, and only now, he acts. Heimdall will blod the Gjallerhon, the horn that once was Mimir’s, and he will blow it with all his strength. Asgard shakes with its noise, and it is then that the sleeping gods will wake, and they will reach for their weapons and assemble beneath Yggdrasil, at Urd’s well, to receive the blessing and the counsel of the norns. Odin will ride the horse Sleipnir to Mimir’s well to ask the head of Mimir for counsel, for himself and for the gods. Mimir’s head will whisper its knowledge of the future to Odin, just as I am telling it to you now. What Mimir whispers to Odin will give the all-father hope, even when all looks dark. The great ash tree Yggdrasil, the world-tree, will shake like a leaf in the wind, and the Aesir and with them the Einherjar, all the warriors who died good deaths in battle, will dress for war, and together they will ride out to Vigrid, the final battlefield. Odin will ride at the head of their company. His armour gleams, and he wears a golden helmet. Thor will ride beside him, Mjollnir in his hand. They reach the field of battle, and the final battle will begin. Odin makes straight for Fenrir, the wolf, now grown so huge as to be beyond imagining. The all-father grips Gungir, his spear, in his fist. Thor will see that Odin is heading for the great wolf, and Thor will smile, and whip his goats to greater speed, and he will head straight for the Midgard serpent, his hammer in his iron gauntlet. Grey makes for Surtr, flaming and monstrous. Surtr’s flaming sword is huge and it burns even when it misses. Frey fights hard and well, but he will be the first of the Aesir to fall: his sword and his armour ae no match for Surtr’s burning sword. Frey will die missing and regretting the loss of the sword he gave to Skirnir so long ago, for love of Gerd. That sword would have saved him. The noise of the battle will be furious; the Einherjar, Odin’s noble warriors, are locked in pitched battle with the evil dead, Loki’s troops. The hellhound Garm will growl. He is smaller than Fenrir, but he is still the mightiest and most dangerous of all dogs. He has also escaped the shackles beneath the earth and has returned to rip the throats of the warriors on the earth. Tyr will stop him. Tyr the one-handed, and they will fight, man and nightmare dog. Tyr fights bravely, but the battle with be the death of both of them. Garm dies with its teeth locked in Tyr’s throat. Thor will finally kill the Midgard serpent, as he has wanted to do for so long. Thor smashes the great serpent’s brains in with his hammer. He will leap back as the sea snake’s head tumbles on to the battlefield. Thor is a good nine feet away from it when its head crashes to the ground, but that is not far enough. Even as it dies, the serpent will empty its venom sacs over the thunder god, in a thick black spray. Thor grunts in pain and then falls lifeless to the earth, poisoned by the creature he slew. Odin will battle Fenrir bravely, but the wolf is more vast and more dangerous than anything could possibly be. It is bigger than the sun, bigger than the moon. Odin thrusts into its mouth with his spear, but one snap of Fenrir’s jaws, and the spear is gone. Another bite and a crunch and a swallow and Odin, the all-father, greatest and wisest of all the gods, is gone as well, never to be seen again. Odin’s son Vidar, the silent god, the reliable god, will watch his father die. Vidar will stride forward, as Fenrir gloats over Odin’s death, and thrust his foot into the wolf’s lower jaw. Vidar’s two feet are different. One of them has a normal shoe on it. The other wears a shoe that has been constructed since the dawn of time. It is assembled from all the bits of leather that people cut from the toes and the heels when they make shoes for themselves, and throw away. (If you want to help the Aesir in the final battle, you should throw away your leather scraps. All thrown-out scraps and trimmings from your shoes will become part of Vidar’s shoe.) This shoe will hold the great wolf’s lower jaw down, so it cannot move. Then with one hand Vidar will reach up and grasp the wolf’s upper jaw and rip its mouth apart. In this way Fenrir will die, and so Vidar will avenge his father. On the battlefield called Vigrid, the gods will fall in battle with the frost giants, and the frost giants will fall in battle will the gods. The undead troops from Hel will litter the ground in their final deaths, and the noble Einherjar will lie beside them on the frozen ground, all of them dead for the last time, beneath the lifeless misty sky, never to rise again, never to wake and fight. Of Loki’s legions, only Loki himself will be standing, bloodied and wild-eyed, with a satisfied smile on his scarred lips. Heimdall, the watcher on the bridge, the gatekeeper of the gods, will also not have fallen. He will stand on the battlefield, his sword, Hofud, wet and bloody in his hand. They walk towards each other across Vigrid, treading on corpses, wading through blood and flames to reach each other. “Ah,” Loki will say. “The muddy-backed watchman of the gods. You woke the gods too late, Heimdall. Was it not delightful to watch them die, one by one?” Loki will watch Heimdall’s face, looking for weakness, looking for emotion, but Heimdall will remain impassive. “Nothing to say, Heimdall of the nine mothers? When I was bound beneath the ground, with the serpent’s poison dripping into my face, with poor Sigyn standing beside me trying to catch what venom she could in her bowl, bound in the darkness in the intestines of my son, all that kept me from madness was thinking of this moment, rehearsing it in my mind, imagining the days when my beautiful children and I would end the time of the gods and end the world.” Heimdall will still say nothing, but he will strike, and strike hard, his sword crashing against Loki’s armour, and Loki will counter, and Loki will attack with fierceness and intelligence and glee. As they fight, they will remember a time they battled long ago, where the world was simpler. They had fought in animal form, transformed into seals, competing to obtain the necklace of Brisings: Loki had stolen it from Freya at Odin’s request, and Heimdall had retrieved it Loki never forgets an insult They will fight, and slash and stab and hack at each other. They will fight, and they will fall, Heimdall and Loki, fall beside each other, each mortally wounded.

“It is done,” whispers Loki, dying on the battlefield. “I won.”

But Heimdall will grin then, in death, grin through golden teeth flecked with spittle and with blood. “I can see further than you,” Heimdall will tell Loki. “Odin’s son Vidar killed your son Fenris Wolf, and Vidar survives, so does Odin’s son Vali, his brother. Thor is dead, but his children Magni and Modi still live. They took Mjollnir from their father’s cold hand. They are strong enough and noble enough to wield it.”

“None of this matters. The world is burning,” says Loki. “The mortals are dead. Midgard is destroyed. I have won.”

“I can see further than you can, Loki. I can see all the way to the world-tree,” Heimdall will tell him with his last breath. “Surtr’s fire cannot touch the world-tree, and two people have hidden themselves safely in the trunk of Yggdrasil. The woman is called Life, the man is called Life’s Yearning. Their descendants will populate the earth. It is not the end. There is no end. It is simply the end of the old times, Loki, and the beginning of the new times. Rebirth always follows death. You have failed.”

Loki would say something, something cutting and clever and hurtful, but his life will have gone, and all his brilliance, and all his cruelty, he will say nothing, not ever again. He will lie still and cold beside Heimdall on the frozen battlefield.

Now Surtr, the burning giant, who was there before the beginning of all things, looks out at the vast plain of death and raises a bright sword to the heavens. There will be a sound like a thousand forests turning to flame, and the air itself will begin to burn.

The world will be cremated in Surtr’s flames. The flooding oceans steam. The last first rage and flicker and then are extinguished. Black ash will fall from the sky like snow.

In the twilight, where Loki and Heimdall’s bodies once lay beside eah other, nothing can be seen but two heaps of grey ash on the blackened earth, the smoke mingling with the mist of the morning. Nothing will remain of the armies of the living and of the dead, of the dreams of the gods and the bravery of their warriors, nothing but ash.

Soon after, the swollen ocean will swallow the ashes as it washes across all the land, and everything living will be forgotten under the sunless sky.

This is how the world will end, in ash and flood, in darkness and in ice. That is the final destiny of the gods.

Lesson 2:

From the myths and legends we have studied this year, which period is your favourite? Why?

You are going to write a review about one of the periods we have looked at, Greek, Roman, English or Norse.

Today you are going to plan this.

Tomorrow you will write it up.

Plan at least four paragraphs covering the following: • Which is your favourite and why • What they believe about the world • What they value • How this links to today’s society • Why people should read the myths and legends from this period Paragraph 1 Paragraph 2 Paragraph 3 Paragraph 4 Paragraph 5

Lesson 3:

Write up the review you planned yesterday.

Lesson 4: You are going to plan your own ending of the world. You can take inspiration from any of the myths and legends we have read this year. So, you could include gods, battles, heroes or you could take a more modern and scientific approach, overheating, lack of resources etc.

Plan your story using the narrative arc.

Lesson 5:

Write up your story on the end of the world. Remember to include descriptive language, ‘show not tell’, varied sentences and punctuation, and paragraphs.